A Horror Story? In League of Legends?
The League of Legends franchise’s first venture into console gaming is going great so far. The freshly-released story trailer paints a lovely – er, wait, that’s not quite right. It paints a very vivid picture of life in Bilgewater: the docks, rotting and brightly colored both; the crumbling underground–or perhaps undersea–temples; the derelict ships gone adrift or simply fallen into the wrong hands; and the great evil whose shadow brings a ragtag band of heroes together. Well, three heroes, a kraken cultist, and a serial killer. Why yes, we do love Illaoi and Pyke, why do you ask? In all seriousness, though, Ruined King is looking great so far. Also, more than a little spooky.
It’s not like this is the first Riot has gotten some horror in their fantasy–if you dig deep enough in the lore, most of the characters have something unsettling going on. Sylas’ entire backstory, Kayn having his own murder incorporated into his playstyle, Pyke in general… it can get pretty chilling. Ruined King seems like it might be trying to actively engage with these horror undertones, though, which would be interesting to see play out. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about fantasy in recent years, it’s that the genre mixes surprisingly well with horror.
Whichever way Riot decides to go with Ruined King, they’ve still delivered a hell of a trailer. Every single character looks fantastic in these stylized, cel-shaded graphics, though Braum and Illaoi are our favorites. The gothic atmosphere and spooky lighting are wonderful. The animation is incredibly fluid, the voice acting is solid, and the world looks both gorgeous and foreboding. So yeah, we’re loving this game so far. Here’s hoping it plays as nice as it looks!
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story will be coming to consoles and PC in 2021.
Which Champion are you looking forward to seeing in Ruined King? Let us know down in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.